What a journey it has been as I follow my nose and my heart with this project. And now it’s time to come and enjoy one of the outcomes!
Amy in Psarades, Prespa Lakes, looking over the triple border between Greece, Albania, and North Macedonia, July 2023
On the final weekend of Winter (August 25-27), Apollo Bay offers up WinterWild a feast of creative and delicious delights with this unique festival and the final event will be my Heart Maps audio adventure! This is one of the places where this year’s heart mapping has led, and I would so love for you to come and explore. A massive thanks to all my collaborators and participants who have joined along the way. And to Regional Arts Australia for funding my creative research fellowship that allowed development of this work. AFTER NOTE- listen to audio and see photos from the event here!
Across the WinterWild weekend there will be a free Heart Maps story trail available to wander and listen (and for people unable to be on site these can be listened to online too), as well as this ticketed event that will take people on a magic mystery tour around town. BYO smartphone and headphones for either!
Led by me and Gadubanud artist and Traditional Owner Richard Collopy, the audio stories and experience weave together local music, culture, archival sounds, oral histories and stories of local people and places: the unique ecology; of falling in love or having first beers on the beach; the cinema and dances; first telephones, and so much more. It invites people to think about how we move through this world and how we connect with places and with each other.
This was Jade and I walking the route last week:
Site of Miss Penn’s house, Apollo Bay
My Heart Map adventure this year has also taken me all the way to Greece! I have recently returned from travels visiting the village of my grandparents (Neret in Macedonian and Polipotamos in Greek) meaning where many rivers meet. This was incredibly moving, and while I didn’t meet any blood relations- my family having immigrated to Australia during the unrest in the 1940s- I was made to feel so welcome and feel Northern Greece in my bones.
The Artistic Station at Prespa, Walking Arts Conference 2023
The village of Neret/Polipotamos, Northern Greece
I also had the amazing opportunity to attend a creative conference in nearby region of Prespa with an international crew of Walking Arts explorers presented by the Department of Fine and Applied Arts of the University of Western Macedonia.
It was a completely weird and wonderful and life-changing experience that is difficult to put into words so while I continue to process the experience I defer to my lovely articulate colleagues below. I also had the honour of presenting on my Otways Heart Maps project which included a video message from Richard which was so special for people to hear. Watch here, along with me reading a poem at the start of my presentation, inspired by walks done during Heart Maps workshops in Apollo Bay. All the synchronicity of criss-crossing journeys and stories and hearts, the joy!
Walking Arts Conference Day Laimos
Cartographies panel at conference: Miguel, Anna, Amy. Natacha, Dan
Massive thanks to Walk Listen Create who got me onto this beautiful wild thing (note I’ve now entered the WinterWild walk into their yearly sound walk awards, exciting!), and an article on the conference here by Korina Farmakoris.
And some reflections from Patricia Miranda:
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Amy doing Heart Maps presentation in Greece (Pic by Sia)
Until we meet again!
Much love, Amy